This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.

And to search for The Our American Stories podcast, go to the IHeart Radio app wherever you get your

podcasts.

Up next we bring you Jim O'Brien, a Pittsburgh native, a sports journalist, and the author of the

Pittsburgh Proud series of books.

Today, Jim brings us a story about Steelers' legend, the chief, the founding owner of the franchise,

Art Rooney Sr.

I'd like to tell you a story about my favorite person in all of pro sports.

He's like the grandfather that I never had.

My grandparents were all gone by the time I was a little boy, so I guess I needed a grandpap. And Art Rooney filled the bill.

He was the nicest guy that I ever met in the sports world. I met him when I was a teenager

and I went out to see the Steelers practice one day at the fairgrounds in the South Park area of Pittsburgh.

Boy, was that a dump. They had horses out there during the week and sometimes the players had to watch where they stepped on the grass. But somehow the Steelers

back in the 50s managed to practice there. And Art Rooney was normally on the sideline. I met him

one day on the sideline and talked to him. And he told me who some of his favorite players were,

some of his favorite sports writers. And just to show you what

kind of a man he was, the next day, he sends me a postcard, and he apologizes for having

the temerity to tell me who his favorite sports writers were.

Now, I was a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh.

I was 19 years old, and Art Rooney is apologizing to me.

You know, I was the sports editor of the student newspaper,

...